Thursday, May 28, 2015

The real question for me is whether they waited too long to go F2P and save the franchise. That, I'm not sure of, but I'd be more than willing to check it out again when it does.

SWTOR was almost too late in its timing, but Bioware was able to staunch the bleeding and actually bring the game back from the brink. Now, I'd say that SWTOR is steadily thriving; it has found its player base, built its brand, and is adding new content on a regular basis.

Star Trek Online followed a similar trajectory but without the EA brand name behind it. Same with Rift and LOTRO. So, it can be done, and more importantly HAS been done before.

Friday, May 22, 2015

The other day I was printing out some documentation* when my son spoke up.

He was somewhere deep in the bowels of the Dune Sea on Tatooine --if you've played the planetary story there for SWTOR, you know exactly what I'm talking about-- and apparently something had occurred to him.

Turning to his older sister, he said, "Say, what level is your Jedi Knight?"

"The one on the shared account is in Alderaan," she replied, "but my new one on my own account is only on Coruscant."

"Oh," he said, deflating a little. "I was wondering if you'd do a group quest with me."

My ears perked up. I knew what was coming next.

"How long do you think it'd be before you got your Knight to Tatooine?"

"Really? I've got all this homework to do and you want to know when I can get on the game?"

"Oh, okay." He swiveled his head around until he saw his younger sister on the couch, reading with her headphones on. "Hey," he called to her, "what's your Smuggler's level at?"

"Um, about 14," she replied.

"Oh man. I guess I'll have to wait."

Hello, I thought. I'm right here!

"Dad..." he began.

Finally!
"...I noticed that the free account's XP rewards really cut down after L20. It's taking me longer to level up than I expected."

He then turned back to the screen and kept playing.

I blinked twice. That's it? No 'can you help me out, Dad?'
"You know, I could help you out with some heroics."

He kept playing. "Um...." he said, drawing it out. "Okay, I guess."

***

Apparently, the older two decided to visit the younger one while she was working on her Consular on Tython.

Without telling her, naturally.

So, they snuck up behind her and kept following her around. She was so focused on the story, she didn't even notice them there for 15 minutes.

Then, hilarity ensued.

"What are you--"

"HA!! YOU DIDN'T SEE US!!"

"I was jumping around and saying 'Hi!' all this time!!"

"I didn't SEE you at all! How long have you been there!"

"Forever!!"

Ah, Fridays.

*Paperless office, my ass. I've printed out more documents for work these past few years than I'd done in the decade before it.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

I occasionally will mention a crowdfunding campaign that is relevant to gaming and/or gamers, and I figured I ought to catch up and post a few notices so that the people behind them can get some extra visibility.

The storyline is a bit complicated, but some of the recent episodes involving Vid meeting her mother have really landed some huge emotional punches. I honestly don't know if I could write those scenes, but Vid's artwork really captured the complexity and heartbreak of the story arc to an incredible degree.

From Draenor With Love has its own Patreon site to cover materials and web hosting costs.

***

If you've ever gone to a con, you've run into cosplayers. Hell, you can even find them participating in parades, such as the 501st has done at the Tournament of Roses Parade.

But what about the history of cosplay? Where did it come from, and how did it explode into the public eye?

While filming the documentary She Makes Comics, Respect Films talked to a lot of people about the rise of costuming in the 70s. After the release of She Makes Comics, they talked to even more people, found a lot of interest, and decided to make a documentary on the subject of cosplay.